In general, data storage devices are susceptible to data loss or corruption in the event of a power interruption during operation. When a power loss event occurs during a write operation, the data can be corrupted. Further, when such an event occurs during an update of storage device configuration data, such as wear leveling data or directory mapping data, the data may not be recoverable upon subsequent power up and re-initialization.
In some instances, storage systems have incorporated auxiliary power supplies to provide power during a power loss event. Additionally, many storage systems have incorporated redundant data storage techniques to preserve one or more versions of the data in response to such power loss events. However, upon subsequent power up and re-initialization, multiple versions of the data may be stored in memory. Further, when metadata is spread into spare bytes of pages within a flash memory due to an out-of-space update, multiple copies may be mapped to the same logical block address, but only one copy is valid.